Scriptiegegevens

While previous studies have already shown that doctor-patient communication can influence patient outcomes, there is still uncertainty as to what communicative behaviours have an influence on which specific variables. The present study sets out to test analogue patients’ reactions to a consultation between a GP and a patient with non-specific low back pain. In a between-subjects experiment, 115 participants watched a video vignette with either positive or negative language use. Findings indicate no differences between groups for recovery expectations, kinesiophobia, medical adherence intentions and evaluation of the message. When comparing results from before and after watching the video, however, both groups expected the pain to last shorter and to be more in control of the pain after they had seen the video. Hence, it can be concluded that consultations between GPs and patients can have positive effects, while language use was shown to have no demonstrable effect on the studied patient outcomes. These findings are inconsistent with most of the existing literature in the field. Future studies should focus on individual differences of patients rather than treating all participants as one homogeneous group.